Traumschiff Surprise - Periode 1
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| (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 | |
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raumschiff_surprise.jpg) Movie poster of (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 |
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| Directed by | Michael Herbig |
| Produced by | Michael Herbig Patty Saffeels Michael Waldleitner |
| Written by | Michael Herbig Alfons Biedermann Rick Kavanian |
| Starring | Michael Herbig Rick Kavanian Christian Tramitz Anja Kling Til Schweiger Sky du Mont Hans-Michael Rehberg |
| Music by | Stefan Raab |
| Cinematography | Stephan Schuh |
| Editing by | Alexander Dittner |
| Release date(s) | 2004 |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country |  Germany |
| Language | German |
| Preceded by | Der Schuh des Manitu |
| Followed by | Lissi und der wilde Kaiser |
(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 is a German movie made in 2004 by Michael Herbig. As a spiritual successor to Der Schuh des Manitu, (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 is based on a recurring skit from Herbig's TV show Bullyparade (in this case "Unser (T)Raumschiff"). The title and plot allude to Raumschiff Enterprise, the German name for Star Trek. Raumschiff is the German word for space-craft, while Traumschiff literally means "Dream Ship". The German TV series Das Traumschiff is based on The Love Boat. The movie parodies several science fiction films.
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[edit] Characters
Many characters from the first movie reappear despite the unrelated story. The main characters speak with a very strong Bavarian accent in the German version of the movie. Herbig once described the movie as "a group of girl-roommates on adventure".[citation needed] Captain Kork (Christian Tramitz, a take on Captain Kirk with Kork meaning cork), Mr. Spuck (Michael "Bully" Herbig, a take on Spock with Spucke meaning spit) and the engineer Schrotty (Rick Kavanian, a play on Scotty with schrottig meaning trashy) act stereotypically gay. Rick Kavanian also plays Jens Maul (a play on Darth Maul with German Maul meaning chops, despite the fact the character itself is obviously based on Darth Vader) and Doc Pulle (a play on Leonard McCoy's German nickname Pille meaning pill, and Pulle standing for bottle).
[edit] Plot
The movie begins at a place which appears to be Nevada's legendary Area 51. A visiting general is led down into an underground complex where he is shown a captured alien. The alien resembles a chubby Vulcan in a cowboy costume, and greets the general with a "Hey, what'cha looking at?".
The next scene opens 300 years later, in 2304. Earth is under attack by the fleet of the Mars Regulator and his asthmathic right hand (and son) Jens Maul. With most of Earth's forces destroyed, the Queen Metapha (from "metaphor", played by Anja Kling) of Earth and her secretaries debate their last options. They decide to call for the crew of the Surprise, Earth's last available ship, to travel 300 years back in time. Their mission is to destroy a UFO which had crashed in Nevada in 2004. Its technology had enabled mankind to colonize Mars in the first place, hence its destruction would prevent the attack 300 years later.
At first Captain Kork is very reluctant to follow the order to return to Earth immediately (because he, Spucky and Schrotti intend to train for a 'Miss Waikiki' contest), but ultimately changes his mind. Because of some technical problems, however, direct transport is not possible, so Kork orders Schrotty to call a space taxi. The taxi is driven by Rock (played by Til Schweiger), who is immediately admired by both Kork and Spuck. Rock manages to break through the Martian blockade, but during the action the taxi is chased and severely damaged and crashes beside the Queen's palace. Kork, Spuck and Schrotty are advised of their mission and are then seated into the time machine, which looks like an old sofa. When the Regulator's forces attack the capital city, Rock and Metapha join Kork and Spucky on the device, while Schrotti remains behind. Jens Maul acquires the time machine's manual, builds his own one and follows the foursome back in time.
Under constant harrassment by Jens Maul, the travellers have a couple of unvoluntary sojourns in 1304 Britain, during a tournament held by Lord William the Last (Sky Dumont) and Nevada of the Wild West era, where they run afoul of Santa Maria (Dumont in a reprisal of his role in Der Schuh des Manitu). Upon arrival in the West, the time sofa is smashed by a speeding train; however, the group captures Maul's time machine and uses it to reach 2004, where they witness the UFO crashing. It turns out to be no bigger than a football and its occupant no taller than a human hand. The beer-guzzling alien emerges and in its haste to consume more alcohol, it begins to choke. Spucky tries to help by offering Maul's asthma spray, but the pressure created by the device blows up the creature. The group disintegrates the UFO and scrambles onto the sofa just as the local military arrives. But the control panel shows that it is overloaded with exactly 76.375 kilograms – just as much as Spucky happens to weigh. With a heavy heart, Spucky decides to remain behind.
The story switches back to Area 51, where Spuck has just finished telling his tale. The government officials are not convinced until Spuck provides proof in the form of a futuristic piece of technology: a thermometer with a vibrating alarm which he had inserted just before departure. And as Kork, Rock and Metapha get back to the future, Spuck is already awaiting them. Spuck has survived because he's a Vulcanette, who have extraordinarily long lifespans, and has been busy re-decorating Earth within the last 300 years (it is now all in pink). So Kork and his men get to participate in the Miss Waikiki contest after all - but the ever-relentless Jens Maul has the last word to say about this ...
[edit] Production and allusions
After the success of Der Schuh des Manitu, Michael "Bully" Herbig had asked his Bullyparade audience to decide his next movie project. Open for selection were: a sequel to Der Schuh des Manitu; (T)Raumschiff Surprise; a movie about another regular sketch about Sissi (which was eventually realized as the computer-animated film Lissi und der wilde Kaiser); a "Movie No One Would Ever Expect" with the same name; or an advice to Herbig to keep his hands off making movies altogether.
(T)Raumschiff Surprise parodies the science fiction films Star Trek, Star Wars (particularly The Phantom Menace), The Fifth Element, Back to the Future, The Time Machine, Independence Day, A Knight's Tale, Men in Black, Minority Report, High Noon, The Matrix, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Twelve Monkeys. (T)Raumschiff Surprise has some kind of prequel scene to Der Schuh des Manitu when the protagonists travel back in time to the wild west. They meet Santa Maria (the antagonist of Der Schuh des Manitu) who offers the Apaches a new saloon for sale, a central scene in Der Schuh des Manitu.
The scene in which Kork and Spuck attempt to beam off the Surprise by stepping onto several lighted numbered floor panels, is a pun on a German TV children's game show 1, 2 oder 3. The panels are part of a triple-choice quiz system, and any children who stand on the correct panel (i.e. with the number of the correct answer) may collect points for their respective team.
[edit] Awards
- 2004 - Bambi
- 2004 - Deutscher Comedypreis (Bester Comedian: Michael "Bully" Herbig)
- 2004 - Deutscher Comedypreis (Beste Kino-Komödie)
- 2004 - Goldene Leinwand mit Stern
- 2004 - Box Office Germany Award (Bogey) in platinum
- 2005 - DIVA-Award - Der Deutsche Kinopreis (Publikumspreis)
[edit] Critical response
While popular at large with the audience, there has been some negative criticism of (T)Raumschiff Surprise. Some critics complained about the lack of wit which had made Der Schuh des Manitu popular, while homosexual associations criticised its portrayal of gay people, claiming that it would reinforce negative stereotypes.
